Not So and yet, especially Bitter Rivals
by Cheeseburger of Doom
Summary: Poor Momo is having a hard time figuring out his feelings for a certain someone that he's hated all along.


A/N, disclaimer, and rabid squirrels: Yay! My second attempt at TeniPuri...and what will this fic be like? Will it be dumb? Will you love it? Will you hate it? Will you want to use it as toilet paper (provided you print it out first, because paper is a lot easier on the bottom than a computer screen!)? I decided to try out a couple I don't see all that often...I wonder what you'll think of the result... 

Heh, and I still managed to resist madda madda dane, even though Ryoma actually appears for a little while in this fic!

(P.S. I don't own Prince of Tennis, but you knew that already. And I'm not a TeniPuri expert, having seen only about 40 eps at this point, so please bear with me.)

****

Not So (and yet, especially) Bitter Rivals

I wonder how I ended up this way?

I wonder, why am I with you? 

I wonder...

*****

"I'll never lose to you!"

"Yeah, well, I'll never lose to you either!"

The observers of the practice match all shook their heads. "Momo-chan senpei really needs to work on his comebacks," said one of the watchers, shaking his head. All were in agreement about this fact.

"At least he plays good tennis."

All were agreed about this fact, as well.

"Hey, there goes his dunk smash!"

"I wonder who's gonna win?"

"My money's on Kaido."

"You never *have* any money."

"I'm betting on Momoshiro!"

"Good for you..."

"Hey, I'm hungry...why don't you buy me some food later?"

"Go, Momo-chan-senpei!"

The players were oblivious to all these goings on, as they were completely absorbed in their game. The ball went back, and forth, and back, and forth...and then it didn't go back, and once or twice it failed to go forth. Momo-chan and Kaido were perfectly tied. Both were determined to beat the other ... and then they heard the fateful voice of their coach telling them that they had to stop because it was starting to rain, and practice was almost over anyway.

It was a typical day in the life of Momo-chan and Kaido.

*****

Momoshiro was feeling pretty jolly as he rode his bicycle home from the store. It was a nice day out, so there was no reason not to be happy. He hummed as he went, his own personal song, which involved a lot of, "la la la, Momo-chan is the best" with no particular tune. He slowed down as he saw a familiar figure, running in the opposite direction.

"Oi, Kaido!" he called out.

Kaido looked up, glared at him, and then kept running.

"Let's finish our game from the other day!"

Kaido stopped when he heard that. How could he resist such an appealing challenge? "I'm going to win," Kaido said.

"Sure, sure. Just go and get your stuff, and I'll meet you back here," Momoshiro said. Kaido grunted something that sounded like consent, and then they both went their separate ways.

I'll never lose to him. The thought made Momoshiro grin.

*****

Kaido and Momoshiro were rivals. Neither could really remember how it started, or exactly when it started; all they knew was that they couldn't stand each other. There was no end to their competing; they exchanged nasty looks whenever they got the chance, and insults flew back and forth on a regular basis. That was the way it was.

Although, if either of them had been asked... "Why do you hate him so much?" neither would have been able to answer, because there was no answer.

They just did.

*****

Momoshiro was happy, because he was winning. Kaido was unhappy, because he was not winning.

Then, suddenly, as luck would have it, the sky clouded over, and it started to rain. They continued to play for a while, until they realized that it was useless. They found some shelter, and watched the rain pour down.

"I bet you're happy that it's raining, because I was kicking your ass!"

Kaido hissed. "I was just about to turn things around."

"Sure you were!" Momoshiro said cheerfully.

Kaido hissed again. "Shut up."

Momoshiro opened his mouth to make more insulting comments, but then closed it again and decided he didn't feel like it. The rain was ruining his good mood. He wanted to win the game, but it seemed that the weather was against him.

"Is it going to rain every time we play?" Momoshiro wondered aloud.

Kaido looked at him, a bit startled. He had just been thinking the exact same thing. He really wanted to win their game, but it seemed that the weather was against him.

*****

The rain finally let up, a few hours later. Kaido and Momoshiro were still standing side by side. Not a word had been spoken for quite a while. 

"It took to long," Momoshiro said. "I should get home, now."

"Hn." Kaido thought that he should be getting home, too, but...

"Not until we finish this game," they both said, at the same time.

Momoshiro smiled. "I guess we both really want to win. I'll kick your ass, you know."

Kaido hissed. He was smiling, too. This kind of challenge was really a lot of fun.

*****

Momoshiro lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was still angry that somehow, Kaido had managed to pull of winning their game, even though he'd been in the lead. He blamed it on the rain, for messing up his momentum.

Still, the game had been fun. 

Fun seemed like a weird word to describe spending time with Kaido, but this was tennis after all, and Momo-chan lived for tennis.

Hm, if Ryoma is the prince of tennis, could I be the king?

Momoshiro had a vision of himself, seated on a throne, wearing a golden crown, being served by his underlings. It was an amusing thought. He pictured Echizen, fanning him with a large feather. He pictured Inui, bringing him wine (real wine, not Inui-made wine), and then he envisioned...Kaido...in a maid's uniform? 

"No..." Momoshiro moaned. "Why can't I stop thinking about that guy?" Momoshiro gave up on trying to think about something else, and went back to brooding about his game with Kaido that afternoon.

I can't believe I lost to that guy! Next time I'm going to win!

*****

__

"Why do you and Kaido hate each other so much?"

"I don't really know...."

__

"Is there some kind of reason you fight all the time?"

"Not really..."

__

"What's the problem, then?"

"We just...don't like each other. We just...don't...click."

__

"But why? Why is it like that?"

"I don't know!"

*****

Momoshiro awoke from his strange dream, and rubbed his temples. He couldn't really remember what the dream had been about, but for some reason, he found himself thinking about Kaido.

Kaido? Why would I be dreaming about Kaido? I hate that guy!

__

"But why? Why is it like that?" A small piece of the dream came back to haunt him.

I just do, is all, Momoshiro thought, rather irritably. I just do.

But why? It was actually a good question. Momoshiro really didn't know the answer. They had to compete because...they had to compete. That was just the way things were.

*****

Momoshiro was whistling as he made his way to school, riding his trusty bicycle. He was surprised to see a familiar form, walking in the same direction on the sidewalk, a little way ahead. That familiar form bent down, suddenly. Momoshiro couldn't figure out what exactly Kaido was doing, but he was immediately curious. As he got closer, he could see what was going on.

Kaido was playing with a puppy. The owner of the puppy was watching, with a grin on their face, as Kaido petted it and talked to it. Momoshiro was a little surprised to see such an act of affection from the snake. Kaido stood, nodded at the owner, and continued on his way.

Momoshiro passed him, and considered making some sort of comment about the whole situation, but somehow, he didn't really want to. Sure, he could make a classic joke and tease Kaido endlessly about his little weakness for cuteness...but that didn't seem right, somehow. After all, Momoshiro was kind of partial to cute things, himself.

He decided not to mention it, for now. He pretended not to have seen Kaido, and kept going on his way.

*****

"Ganbatte, Momo-chan-senpei!"

"Do you think those two can pull off a miracle, and get along for a while?"

"Who knows?"

"Let's just cheer them on!"

"I love you, Momo-chan!"

"Who said that?"

"It wasn't me!!"

The fans were pretty rowdy, as usual.

It was odd, being forced to play doubles with Kaido. Momoshiro had done it a few times, but every time it was the same. They would yell at each other, and threaten each other, and yet they still managed to win...somehow. They actually made a good team, although Momoshiro never would have admitted that out loud. 

Another thing that Momoshiro would never have admitted out loud was that it was actually fun playing doubles with Kaido. All the threatening and insulting and fighting was...fun. Any kind of fighting with Kaido was fun! Momoshiro was just beginning to realize how much he actually _enjoyed_ having a rival; a constant challenge. He was beginning to realize how much he actually enjoyed Kaido's company.

It was a strange revelation, seeing as how they hated each other so much.

"Pay attention to the game," Kaido growled. 

Momoshiro cursed himself for being distracted (Especially since he'd been distracted by thoughts of the snake, his arch-nemesis), and focused on the game. At least, he tried to focus on the game. It wasn't working very well. Momoshiro kept having weird thoughts about his current pairs partner. Weird thoughts that didn't seem to go well with the kind of relationship they had at the moment. They hated each other quite a lot...so why was Momoshiro dwelling on how much he liked Kaido's constant presence in his life?

Kaido hissed at him, and yelled at him again. Momoshiro decided he didn't want to think about it anymore, and did his best to focus himself completely on the game. Which they won. They actually made a pretty good pair...on the tennis court.

*****

__

"I hate you, you know."

"Yeah...I know."

*****

"Ne, Echizen...do you have anybody that you...like?" Momoshiro desperately wanted to talk to somebody, and Echizen seemed a good enough candidate, since they were eating together at the moment. Momoshiro could have gone to someone else after practice. Someone like Oishi, who seemed to know a lot about sensitive issues, but he had left already with Eiji. Tezuka was not the talkative type, Kawamura probably would have blushed and stammered his way through a weird conversation like this, Fuji would have pried until he found out who Momoshiro was worrying about and then probably would have played matchmaker, since he seemed to enjoy that sort of thing, and Inui...was weird. That left Echizen. Who probably wouldn't be of any help, but wouldn't care either, which meant he wouldn't spread anything around if Momoshiro accidentally revealed something he shouldn't.

Momo-chan was beginning to have doubts about talking to anyone.

"Well, not you, anyway," Ryoma replied lazily, staring out of the window.

Momoshiro sighed. A typical answer, from his other rival. He and Ryoma were known to compete in a lot of things, too. They had a lot of eating competitions. That was pretty fun, too, but fun in a different way from fighting with Kaido. Ryoma was Momoshiro's friend. Kaido was his worst enemy. But, if Kaido was his worst enemy, what was he doing having a conversation like this with Echizen? Why did he need to talk about liking someone?

Momoshiro was a little confused.

"But is there someone?"

"Not really."

"If you liked someone, what would you do about it?"

"Nothing."

"Oh." The conversation was really going nowhere. Momoshiro was regretting bringing it up.

"Why? Do you have a crush on someone, Momo-senpei?"

"N-no, not me," Momoshiro said. "I have a friend who was asking me about it, but I didn't know what to tell him..."

"That trick never works, you know," Ryoma said.

"Damn."

"So who is it?"

Momoshiro decided that Echizen really hadn't been the best choice after all. He should have waited and talked to Oishi some other time.

"Not you, anyway," Momoshiro replied, stealing Ryoma's line.

"Well, that's a relief."

"Yeah." Momoshiro stared at his burger. He stared at it for a long time, and Ryoma was beginning to wonder if Momo-senpei was waiting for it to grow mold or something. 

"Are you going to eat that?"

"What? Oh, eventually."

"If it's bothering you that much, you should probably tell the person about it, and get it over with," Ryoma said.

That was actually a helpful piece of advice.

"You're right," Momoshiro said. "I'll tell my friend to do that."

"Sure. Your friend." Ryoma went back to staring out the window, and Momoshiro polished off his burger and went to get another one. He was feeling pretty hungry.

*****

Now would be the perfect time, Momoshiro thought. He and Kaido were alone, everyone else had gone home. Momoshiro had remained behind on purpose, to see if Kaido would still be there later, when they could talk alone. Momoshiro really wanted to talk to Kaido.

It's not a confession of love or anything, Momoshiro reminded himself, to calm his nerves. I just want to talk to him, because...I want to talk to him. He's my rival, we have to talk sometimes, right? I don't like him that way...I was just feeling kind of silly the other night...Yeah.

Kaido noticed Momoshiro looking at him, and hissed at him. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Momoshiro replied. "What are you still doing here?"

"You're still here, too."

"Yeah, but I asked why you're still here."

"Because I am."

Momoshiro realized that this did not count as talking. "Ne, Kaido..."

"What?"

"Have we ever really had a real conversation?"

"No," Kaido replied. "Why the hell would we?"

"I don't know." Momoshiro didn't know what to do next. He didn't even know what he really wanted to say. He knew he should say something, though, before Kaido left...

Kaido was already leaving.

"Wait!"

Kaido looked back, eyebrows drawn together in surprise. "What?"

"I...wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I'm not sure."

To Momoshiro's surprise, Kaido actually came back in. He leaned against the doorframe, and waited for Momoshiro to speak.

"I've been wondering lately...why do we hate each other so much?" he asked.

"I don't know. We just do."

"We didn't click, right?"

Kaido blinked. "Yeah." That was a good enough way to describe it.

"But why?"  
Kaido just shrugged. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Well...yeah, actually." 

Kaido turned to leave again. Momoshiro didn't tell him to stop this time, he just watched him go. Kaido came back of his own accord, however.

"Why is this bothering you?" he asked, rather suspiciously.

"Um..." Cough.

Kaido moved in closer. Momoshiro didn't like that very much. Momoshiro liked his personal space, all seventeen feet of it. He wanted Kaido, whom he hated, to stay very far away from him.

"Are you making fun of me somehow?" Kaido asked.

"No, not this time," Momoshiro said. 

"So what's this about?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Oh."

They were standing pretty close together now. The tension in the air was so thick that Momoshiro was finding it hard to breathe.

Suddenly, both of them snapped. Momoshiro could almost hear the "snap" as they closed the distance between them, and they kissed. Momoshiro wasn't really sure who started it, but it didn't really matter, since the kiss was really, really great. It didn't matter that he was currently in the arms of his rival, and the guy he hated the most, because he was also in the arms of the man he'd been obsessing over for a long time, and the guy he really, really liked.

"So what does this mean?" Momoshiro asked, when they broke apart. Neither bothered to move away.

Kaido shrugged. "I don't know."

"I guess it means...that we don't hate each other after all," Momoshiro said. He regretted those words the moment they left his lips. He was pretty sure that Kaido wasn't having the same revelations as he was, and that Kaido was going to leave any second, with a disgusted look on his face. 

"I guess we don't," Kaido said instead. Momoshiro blinked in surprise. He and Kaido were more alike than he'd thought...

"I wanted to talk to you, too. But I don't like talking," Kaido said. They stared at each other for a while.

"So..." Momoshiro said.

"So..." Kaido said. There were a few moments of awkward silence. Kaido hissed. Momoshiro coughed. 

Then they kissed again.

*****

"Oishi! You'll never guess what I just saw!"

Oishi was attacked from behind by a certain energetic redhead. Oishi "oofed" at the sudden new weight on his back.

"What did you just see, Eiji?" he asked.

"Well I went back to get my watch, and I saw something I never really wanted to, actually," he replied, scrunching up his nose cutely. "Momo and Kaido are making out in there!" Eiji pointed to the change room behind them.

"I see." That was a little odd, considering those two never, ever got along. The world works in mysterious ways, Oishi thought, and then he decided to try and forget about it, since it was kind of disturbing to imagine those two together. "Let's just leave them alone then, and not mention this to anybody, okay, Eiji? I don't think they'd want anyone to know."

"Okay!" Eiji said cheerfully.

*****

They still hated each other, of course. Momoshiro couldn't stand Kaido, and Kaido despised Momoshiro...but once in a while, they'd give each other a tiny smile; a smile that no one else really noticed. A smile that was their secret. A smile that meant that even though they really hated each other, they didn't hate each other so much after all.

*****

I wonder, why did I end up here?

I wonder, how did you become the one I wanted?

I keep wondering...and then, I remember...

*****


End file.
